TIMTEBLOGCovering The Tim Tebow Era

Monday, April 20, 2015

*Chip Kelly is smarter than you, armchair NFL expert. From the start, Tebow has needed a
coach who is innovative (and fearless) enough to deploy him in
individual high-leverage situations.

*That means on the goal line, 4th/3rd/2nd/1st-and-short and
as a 2-point conversion specialist (which might just become the next
important NFL position).

*I think that "QB continuity" -- that a starting QB has to
play every single snap, otherwise his fragile mind and team chemistry
would implode -- is orthodox pap.

*I hope Kelly's intention is to test out the potential of that as a
schematic inefficiency -- at a minimum, I love the idea of the 2-point
conversion specialist.

*There is no downside to bringing him in, if you don't care about the media hysteria (and Kelly doesn't).

*Peter King will define a lot of the conventional wisdom on this: "Let’s be real about what this is: It’s a trial. It’s a chance. It’s a
coach who doesn’t care about the distraction of having Tim Tebow in his
camp, because he thinks Tebow might help his team."

*Sports media pre-emptively complaining about the media
coverage is slightly disingenuous: For starters, a lot of fans genuinely
care (out of curiosity, schadenfreude or other).

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Republished from my other site, DanShanoff.com. I am launching a new email newsletter this month. It won't be about Tebow, specifically, and won't even necessarily be about sports, but please feel welcome to sign up for it here.

It seems fitting that today is both the birth day of the new SEC
Network and the birthday of Tim Tebow, the biggest star on the SEC
Network.

It was just more than five summers ago that I launched TimTeblog.com, offering obsessive coverage of the Tim Tebow phenomenon (years before "obsessions" became a beat for new news companies).

The
site was fascinating to produce -- there was obviously plenty of
material around Tebow during his insane senior season at Florida, his
insane NFL Draft process, his insane rookie year with the Broncos, the
truly insane apex 2nd year in Denver, the modestly insane debacle in New
York and the not-really-insane denouement in New England last August.

I
can't help but think that the moment the lights officially go on for
the SEC Network, with Tebow on-air live from Gainesville, the NFL
chapter of Tebow's career will really be over.

I remain
biased and mystified -- that no team will give him a shot, that QBs like
Brady Quinn and Rex Grossman can land on rosters, that this really
might be it.

I know he continues to train -- I actually
believe him when he says that his skills have never been better. I am
left with one lingering question:

Why doesn't he switch positions?

Yes,
I understand that the day he lines up at anything but QB is the day
that his dream of being an NFL QB is over, but -- from the looks of
things -- his dream of being an NFL quarterback *IS ALREADY* over.

The
implication: Wait: He would rather remain a QB and never play in the
NFL again than switch to anything-but-QB (fullback? tight end?) and get a
shot to contribute on an NFL roster?

It's not like he
wasn't willing to do whatever it took to help his teams previously: His
rookie year with the Broncos, before he took over as starting QB, he
lined up as a receiver. On the Jets, he eagerly accepted a role on
special teams. Anything to help the team.

The irony is
that if he was on a roster as a fullback, coaches might actually be
willing to deploy him more innovatively, in short-yardage situations or
otherwise:

Four or five plays per game, what if you
weren't sure if the fullback was going to plow you over, pitch to a
running back or flip a toss over your head to a wide-open receiver?

The
next phase of Tim Tebow's fascinating career begins today. He will be
wildly successful and popular, because he has always been wildly
successful and popular.

Look: I subscribe to the First Rule of Tim Tebow ("Just when you think it can't get any crazier, it does") and hold out that at least one more NFL opportunity will present itself (say, when Urban Meyer takes over for Bill Belichick in New England).

Even with that faith, I can't help lamenting whether the previous phase -- Tebow's NFL career -- ends today, too.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

This makes a heck of a lot more sense than the notion that Tebow refused to play:

“You work your whole life to build a reputation. Then
people try to bring you down when they don’t understand even what
happened. It’s disappointing. You just want to express your side of the
story... “I never said, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do anything. I won’t do
anything.' That wasn’t the talk at all. He
knows that. And everybody on this team knows that I would never not do
something if I was asked. That’s what’s disappointing… People saying,
‘Oh, you quit.‘ That was not it at all. It was just me asking to get an
opportunity to play the position I love, which is quarterback. It wasn’t
me asking out of anything.”

Frankly, I feel foolish for buying into the sensationalized anony-mongering before hearing from Tebow himself. I sure as heck hope that Tebow pushed the case to get the start -- or more than one-yard-plunge Wildcatting -- that is totally fair.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Simply put, Tim Tebow is as team-first as any player you will meet.
He is single-minded in his interest in helping his team win. He clearly
thinks (and has proven) that the best chance for that is with the ball
in his hands, but he has also clearly demonstrated that he is willing to
do whatever it takes to help.

There are plenty of people
who are tired of (or annoyed with) the "Tebowmania" thing, but that is
much more of a function of being annoyed with the media's treatment of Tebow than being
annoyed with Tebow himself. If anything, even the haters begrudgingly respect
Tebow's complete commitment to winning and to his team. Throughout this
season, Tebow has taken any number of relative humiliations -- being
assigned as punt protector the most glaring, but simply not being allowed to play the most persistent -- in stride and with a
"whatever it takes to help the team win" mentality.

What
does it say, then, that Tebow was willing to challenge that very core of
his appeal -- that very core of his personality -- by telling the Jets
he didn't want to be part of their Wildcat (or faux-Wildcat) inanity
this week. He must know he is more popular than the team, and he had to
know the Jets would leak his request (or, framed less charitably,
refusal) around playing time.

He had to know there would
be blowback (with the most common response something akin to how Peter
King put it: He totally agrees with Tebow that the Jets have miserably
screwed him around, but you can't say you won't play.) He had to know it
would instantly become part of the Tebow canon -- the December nadir to
bookend the glorious moment in January during the playoffs that would define
both his NFL career and Tebowmania in general.

That
is how miserable he was. The Jets managed not only to implode their own
season, but they made Tebow...flinch. They had him so unhappy that he
went against everything he is -- and a sizeable piece of why people
believe in him: both off and on the field, his subordination to the greater good... to service.

That is how screwed up the Jets are. So screwed up they could screw up Tim Tebow.

The
good news is that the relationship is almost over -- it is a sign of
how much the Jets fear Tebow's popularity not just that they didn't play
him before, but that when he wouldn't play for them now, they honored
it without fuss for days (until it inevitably fussed). Tebow will land with
another team -- probably the Jaguars -- one that will hopefully give him
a chance.

It cannot possibly go worse in Jacksonville
-- or anywhere else -- than it did in New York with the Jets. The Jets
had absolutely no belief -- no faith -- in Tebow.

And, it
seemed, Tebow eventually lost enough faith in something he believed in
-- "team" -- that he would turn away from that concept for seemingly the
first time in his life.

Aside from believing in the
essential rightness of his own decision in this particular case, I
cannot imagine that was anything but difficult for Tebow in the grand scheme of his unyielding belief in always wanting to do what is right for the team.

Faith
-- in oneself, in your team (or the larger concept of "team"), in the
human condition, in people we admire (yes, like Tebow)... in anything
really -- is essential, not just on Christmas but every day.

To
see that faith tested in such a stark way -- by someone who epitomizes
faith in football (and I'm not even talking about religious faith) -- is
a pretty good reminder of the core position of faith in our lives,
however it manifests itself. And it is a pretty good reminder how
tenuous that faith can be.

If anything, this is a
good moment to remind yourself -- to reaffirm, really -- that no matter
what it might be, you've always got to maintain a little faith. Especially for those moments when it is tested.

-- Dan

UPDATE: Sounds like Tebow never asked out of playing -- the latest report is that he reiterated to Rex Ryan that he was there, if needed. Would be typical if this entire storyline was conflated from nothing but anonymous sourcing, then turned into insanity. The point stands that this has been a less-than-ideal experience for Tebow this season with the Jets, and you couldn't blame him for being epically disappointed. (The point also stands that, presuming the latest report is true, you're not misplacing your faith by focusing on the larger lessons of Tebow's essential character.)

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Capping a lost season for Tebow fans (not to mention Tebow himself), the Jets have benched Mark Sanchez for Tim Tebow Greg McElroy.

The only upside: This almost assures (if not outright assures) that the Jets will deal Tebow in the offseason, hopefully to a team that will actually give him a chance to compete and contribute, rather than turn him into the owner's mantlepiece curio.

Over the weekend, I saw someone (apologies, I forget who) note that both the 49ers and Panthers run offenses that would mesh with Tebow's strengths if he was the back-up QB and the first-stringer went down. Carolina feels like a good fit -- close to home, playing with a former college teammate. The Jaguars have already indicated their interest in bringing Tebow "home," and the tenuous status of Blaine Gabbert (and new ownership) makes that destination more likely than anything else.

The bottom line is that we re-engage with an exercise we went through in 2010 and 2012 -- one that seems to attract a lot of attention: Where will Tebow end up?

And the Tebow Jets jersey heads into the trunk of Tebow memorabilia....

-- Dan

(How sad is it that I still hold out that Rex Ryan will deploy Tebow in the next two hopeless weeks?)

Monday, December 17, 2012

There hasn't been a lot of activity on this blog all season, but the biggest reason is that -- as it relates to on-field participation -- there hasn't been a lot of activity from the Jets with Tim Tebow himself.

The season can be summed up as a bill of goods sold -- from preseason promise that Rex Ryan had the moxie to deploy Tebow as creatively as we all think he could (or should) to... what, exactly?

It is a testament to Tebow's team-first mentality that the frustration has only peeked out if you read into some of his quotes over the past few weeks.

And so we tune into tonight's Jets game -- "playoff contention" as a pipe dream -- and hope that this will (finally) be the week that the Jets open things up with Tebow and let him do what he does best.

Rex Ryan doesn't believe. The folks who have leapt off the bandwagon don't believe. But I find it easy to continue to believe that there is productive, winning football there to be had if only the Jets would have the belief to try with Tebow.

Your Tebow read of the weekend was from the New York Times Magazine, "Let My Tebow Go," by Esquire columnist Stephen Marche, who was late to the Tebow bandwagon (like many, he climbed aboard during the Broncos' run this time last year) but remains steadfast.

I know what he's trying to say when he labels the Tebow phenomenon "absurd" -- he doesn't mean silly or stupid; he means reality-defying, and I appreciate the precision of language, up to a point. (Using the word "absurd" -- given the likely misinterpretation -- feels a bit like self-loathing/self-trolling in order to appeal to folks who don't like Tebow or the Tebow phenomenon.)

But much of the essay resonated with me. A lot of the appeal of Tebow -- certainly for the folks who picked up the fandom last year -- is the faith, the belief without evidence: He just gets it done, although I tend to downplay the mystical and emphasize the relentlessness of Tebow's approach.

"I didn't know there would be this much interest. I don't know if it's
secretive. We're running our offense and our plays and our reads. It's
part of the offense for us."

-- Tim Tebow, after the Jets' "secret" practice working on the Tebow-specific offense. After three years of waiting for an NFL coach to work on this, nice to finally see it happening (even if we don't get any details yet). Love this quote from Rex Ryan:

"If you're not prepared for it, why wouldn't we run it? If you're not
defending it well, why wouldn't we keep running it? You're going to run
something until you stop it. That's the old saying with the Packers
sweep, they kept running it."

Exactly. Just because something isn't part of NFL orthodoxy doesn't mean it isn't a good idea. If anything, taking advantage of inefficiencies -- even tiny ones -- is both an important part of NFL history... not to mention an important part of successful teams.

Friday, August 10, 2012

I don't care if it's the preseason: It will never be not fun to watch Tim Tebow take snaps in a football game, even one as mildly (or non-) competitive as an NFL preseason game.

And he'll get plenty of snaps, too, both because there's no harm in getting the reps in and because -- for now -- Mark Sanchez gets the starter's reps, then the second-half seat.

It will be interesting to see how much the Jets let Tebow do -- how much of the hand they want to show. Probably not much. Run the basic offense, get a good look at second-stringers and fringe roster guys -- Tebow won't make or break his status tonight (or any game this preseason).

It's fun to watch Tebow take game snaps, but the real fun doesn't start until the real games.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Tebow's group had four chances to score on the goal line, and they
converted on three. Tebow scored on a bootleg run, then on the second
play threw to tight end Josh Baker. Terrance Ganaway fumbled on the
third try, and then the Jets showed a glimpse of the potential Tebow
package on the fourth play.

More interestingly, Mark Sanchez sounded fine with all of it:

"We've got to get it in the end zone. I don't care. Whatever
we have to do, and Coach Sparano is going to be the judge there on what
exactly he wants. But if that's what he wants, and that's what puts it
in the end zone, fine. We'll drive it 99 yard and we'll run it in, it
doesn't matter."

We'll see how Sanchez feels when he is removed in scoring opportunities for Tebow.

Tebow, of course, was Tebow: ""I've done that once or twice, so it comes pretty natural.... Whatever they want me to do, you know I'm going to to it."

Thursday, July 19, 2012

It has been a long-held position on this blog that the real revelation of Tebow in the NFL would come from a coach willing to deploy him in unprecedented ways.

For example, a coach using one QB between the 20s, but Tebow inserted as the starting QB in the red zone. (The nominal "starting" QB might have his feelings hurt, but if they have a problem putting themselves ahead of the team, that's a bigger issue.)

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Can you believe it has been (only) two years since Tim Tebow was drafted?

The pre-draft hysteria about Tebow was unmatched -- then or since -- but, most interestingly, heading into draft day, it was entirely unclear who would draft him.

Would it be the hometown Jaguars? Would it be a team with glaring QB needs like the Vikings or Bills? Would Bill Belichick swoop in and snag him? Was a mystery team in the mix?

At first, the Broncos didn't seem like the team to do it -- they used their first first-round pick on WR Demaryius Thomas. But then Belichick protege Josh McDaniels traded up and picked Tebow.

Flying in the face of critics like Todd McShay and Mel Kiper, Tebow indeed became an NFL first-round pick.

At first it seemed like an ideal match: McDaniels was seemingly innovative enough to deploy Tebow in ways that took advantage of his unique skills.

The transition for any NFL rookie is tough -- let alone for a QB (any QB, not just Tebow). But the team seemed committed.

Ultimately, the wheels fell off the McDaniels regime, having nothing to do with Tebow. In his sophomore season, Tebow would thrive despite undermine-laced "support" from his new coach, John Fox. Then the Peyton-Jets drama.

But draft day will always be a great memory for Tebow and Tebow fans -- the moment when his maniacal pro preparation was validated and he earned the lifetime designation:

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Tim Tebow was named to the 2012 "Time 100" list of the most influential people in the world. Jeremy Lin wrote the blurb about Tebow on Time.com: "As athletes, we pour our hearts into winning games. Tim is a reminder that life is about much more than that." (Lin was also named to the list of 100.)

Friday, March 30, 2012

"I've already said it 44 times so here goes number 45: I'm really excited to be a Jet! Haha! All joking aside it's truly an honor to be a Jet and I'm anxiously looking forward to going to work with all of my new teammates and coaches. Fireman Ed and the rest of Jets nation, I'm gonna play my heart out for you. J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!"

Thursday, March 29, 2012

And suddenly, those Reebok Jets Tebow T-shirts and jerseys -- which had a shelf life of about two weeks to begin with -- are collector's items, because Nike's lawsuit against Reebok turned into a judge's injunction, with the merchandise to be pulled from stores.

Let's remember the mantra: Just when you think things can't get more [anything] when it comes to Tebowmania, it does.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

I think I have been waiting six years for a mainstream media outlet to cover Tebow's public expressions of and about his religious faith with any sort of nuance.

Mostly, I've been looking for something that dispels the erroneous characterizations/caricatures of Tebow from some corners of the media as some kind of raging public proselytizer (which he is most definitely not).

*The reviews from Tim Tebow's performance at his Jets opening press conference yesterday are in -- and almost entirely rave.

(Longtime Tebow fans would not have been surprised at all about how deftly Tebow handled the New York media, which seemed totally unprepared for Tebow's open, earnest speaking style. Note that Tebow didn't bring up religion at all, until a media person broached the topic, obviously trying to stir up something. Nothing doing: All football. The best part was the way Tebow dug in to the strategic advantages of using a dual-threat QB.)

*Of all of yesterday's columns, pay attention most to this take from NFL.com's Jeff Darlington, who is as perceptive about the Tebow dynamic as anyone in mainstream media: "It's one thing to manage a monster. It's another to feed it. And if the Jets continue to cultivate an environment that fuels even more life into their newly acquired phenomenon -- which is exactly what they did Monday -- they might as well go ahead and name Tebow as the team's starter right now."

*ESPNNY.com's Johnette Howard has a fantastic survey of all things Tebow. Great stuff, even for die-hard fans who know most of it already (the shout-out to this blog doesn't hurt!)

*Absolutely DO NOT MISS Grantland's Chris Brown talking about how the Jets' offense with Tebow is so much more than the Wildcat -- it'll make you wince whenever you hear someone bludgeon Tebow and the Jets' new offensive strategy with the "W-word."

*This is just plain fun: The new "Jetbow" sandwich coming to New York's Carnegie Deli. (Cheekily made with white bread, a first for the restaurant.)

*And, of course, if you haven't seen my piece in the New York Times from Sunday about Tebow, please give it a look. Really proud of this one. (Feel free to share it with friends!)

Monday, March 26, 2012

That's a great start. For two years, all we've called for here is a little bit of innovation when it comes to Tebow. Ryan may be up for that challenge (even if he continues to insist on using the archaic word "Wildcat" -- known from here on out as the "W-word.")

There are two things going on: The first is the competition between Tebow and Mark Sanchez to be QB1 -- starting QB -- of the Jets. Sanchez is the starter... for now. We'll see what happens if he gets hurt or simply struggles.

The second thing is how the Jets will use Tebow -- the obvious answer is to use him as a substitute for Sanchez in particular scenarios (goal-line, short-yardage or anything else). The other answer is to do what Ryan implied yesterday: Get the ball in Tebow's hands, even if Sanchez is on the field, too.

Tebow may take 10 snaps a game directly from a center, but what if he is on the field for 20-30 snaps per game, in other ways? What if he lines up next to Sanchez, gets the ball and then has the option to run or pass? What if he lines up along the line of scrimmage? What if he lines up behind the FB and next to an RB, along with Sanchez: The "Full Tebow" Backfield?

The point is that the Jets' edge is the mystery of their schemes with Tebow. I don't expect them to reveal anything -- and, hopefully, they will adapt and adjust it from week to week -- but I will be disappointed if Ryan doesn't take advantage of the mismatch.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

The site goes back to 2009 and the hysteria surrounding Tebow's final season in college football, then extended into the hysteria around the NFL Draft, then the hysteria around his rookie season, then the hysteria of this past season's playoff surge... and now the hysteria of Tebow relocating to New York City. Feel free to check out old posts or just pop by daily for news and analysis about the Tebow phenomenon.